Brenden Aaronson reacts to Elland Road as he becomes first Leeds United signing of the summer
Brenden Aaronson has completed his move to Leeds United in a deal worth around $28million according to Phil Hay in The Athletic.
The Red Bull Salzburg midfielder was chased throughout January but was ultimately impossible to secure until now, as he becomes the club's first summer signing.
The 21-year-old has signed a five-year deal after jetting in on Wednesday night (25 May), subject to an international work permit, and has reacted to a visit to his new home stadium before he leaves again for international duty on Friday morning.
He told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “Sounds kind of cliche, but it’s beautiful and it’s old – it’s amazing.
“Listen, I’m from America, so the culture of how far it goes back isn’t that far but you’re coming into a stadium that’s been around for a long time, you know, and it’s a great feeling and I can only picture it with fans in.
“I feel amazing, it’s an amazing feeling playing for an historic, giant club like this is. I think [what attracted me] was all the factors together, the fans, the club in general, the city, the family feeling that you get here, it was just everything.”
Finally
After all the frustration of January, what followed was months of an agonising crawl to what looked increasingly like relegation, so the last week or so has been a major boost.
There are still questions over the potential exits from the club, but the positives are huge, as Premier League survival was claimed on the last day of the season, and now the elusive signing of Aaronson has been completed.
He proved his quality in the Champions League tie against Bayern Munich that Salzburg were intent on keeping him for, and fans who watched that will hope he is replicating the performance that had the German giants on the hop at his new home.
A prior relationship with Jesse Marsch in Austria should help him settle in, as he is already familiar with his compatriot's demands as a coach.
The status of the club within English football, and the history that comes with it, appears to have played a part in his willingness to arrive.
The fans that he has already mentioned will be delighted that a signing that looked more important as the season went on has finally been got over the line.
There will need to be more changes to avoid a repeat of this season's mess but this is certainly a good place to start.